Chapter 8: A greater threat than you realise
"I see you have brought home some guests," said an old woman standing outside a hut.
"Yes, greetings mother," Morrigan greeted as she led Alvar, Alistair, Ser Jory and Daveth towards the old woman, "I bring these four Grey Wardens who…."
"I can see them, girl," interrupted the older woman, "hmm… just as I had expected."
"Wait, are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?" Alistair blurted out.
"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide…. either way, one's a fool!" laughed the old woman.
"She is a Witch of the Wilds; I tell you," Daveth muttered cautiously, "we shouldn't be talking to her."
"Quiet, Daveth," Jory retorted, "If she is really a witch, do you want to make her mad?"
"Now, that is a smart lad, but sadly irrelevant to the larger scheme of things," stated the old woman, "But it is not I who decides. Believe what you will."
Alvar took a deep breath, 'she seems a lunatic, we must be careful if she is really a Witch of the Wilds,' he thought.
"And what of you?" the old woman turned towards Alvar, "does your high-born mind offer a different perspective? You have not spoken anything yet."
"Uh… Good evening, madam," Alvar greeted politely, "how do you know I am nobility?"
"From the way you strut around, young man, anyone can say you were born in a manor," she laughed, "Anyhow, for what reason are you here, visiting my humble abode?" she asked, with a tone Alvar felt was mocking sweetness.
"We are here for the Grey Warden Treaties," answered Alvar confidently.
"Yes, mother," added Morrigan, "they did not come to listen to your wild tales and philosophies."
"True, they came for their treaties, yes?" agreed the old woman, "And before you begin yapping, your precious seals wore off long ago. I have protected these."
She then went inside her hut and emerged after a few minutes with some old scrolled up parchments in her hands. She offered them to Alvar, "Here, take them to your Grey Wardens!" she exclaimed.
Alvar and Alistair examined the parchments, "our thanks for preserving these!" thanked Alvar.
"Oh, don't thank me," answered the old woman. "Just tell your leaders and the Grey Wardens that this blight is a far greater threat than they realise."
'Oh, you don't say,' thought Alvar as he was reminded of how Cailan was disappointed that there may not be a real blight. 'Mayhap, this would cheer that foppish dullard,' he thought.
Alvar looked at the sky, it was dusk, it would be night soon and they must reach the army camp as quickly as they can. He dreaded to think of traversing these wilds in darkness of the night.
"I… sure, madam," he answered. "We shall take our leave now."
"Time for you to go, then" announced Morrigan.
"Don't be ridiculous girl, these are your guests. They might need to you to guide them out of these woods," instructed her mother.
"Oh, very well. I will show you out of the woods. Follow me,"
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As it became dusk, the four men along with Morrigan guiding them, made their way back towards the camp at Ostagar. Morrigan cast some fire spell on her staff to use it as a makeshift torch to light their path in the dim moonlight. When Alvar asked Morrigan about her returning back to her home, he observed that she was far from concerned about the dangers of traversing back to her hut through these Wilds in the darkness; By now, Alvar was sure that Morrigan and her mother are not any normal apostate mages hiding in the Wilds.
'Mayhap that old woman is a Witch of the Wilds, or mayhap they are both Witches of the Wilds?' He pondered, his mind wandered to the tales of the Flemeth, the legendary Witch of the Wilds, who was known to abduct Chasind men to sire monstrous daughters, the 'Flemeth' who rallied many Chasind tribes under her banner to wage war against the Alamarri 'civilisation' to the north which at that time were not yet united into the kingdom of Ferelden as known today; only to be then decisively defeated by the hero Cormac of Denerim. No one in Ferelden had heard of Flemeth then, some said she was slain, some said she fled further southwards even beyond the Chasind lands but they were all rumours. But at least the people of Ferelden were no longer bothered by Flemeth anymore.
They soon reached a place from which the army camp was only a couple of miles away and several thousands of lit torches spread all over the camp was visible from where they stood. Then they heard people shouting, they quickly turned towards the direction of the shouts.
"It is coming from beyond that hill over there!" Alistair exclaimed, pointing his hand in the direction of a hill.
"Yes!" agreed Alvar, "Let us check what is going on!"
The five of them went quickly but cautiously towards the hill and stopped over the hill. They looked ahead to see around thirteen Fereldan soldiers clashing with a band of darkspawn. The soldiers' shields had the markings of the Arling of Denerim. They were surrounded and outnumbered by almost two to one. Around them a number of human and darkspawn corpses littered the ground. A ginger haired woman who Alvar guessed to be the sergeant of the unit tried her best to rally the soldiers and keep them together. But it seemed to serve little purpose as the darkspawn were more numerous and appeared to be fighting more aggressively now.
"At this rate, they will soon be overwhelmed!" observed Alvar, "And more losses of brave men and women to Ferelden!
We must help them!" he declared.
Alistair and Jory agreed, Daveth and Morrigan were silent.
"We can individually take on multiple darkspawn at a time," muttered Alvar, "So, we could try to outflank them."
"It is same as before," Alvar spoke turning to his accomplices, "cutpurse, you take position here and cover us! I will take them at the centre; Alistair, flank them from the right; Jory flank them from the left. And you…" Alvar faced Morrigan, "You shall…."
"I shall go home!" snapped Morrigan, clearly annoyed.
"Eh?" Alvar was confused.
"I came to show you the way back to the camp," she explained angrily, "Not to serve you and fight in your battles! Lord Alvar!" she answered with derision. Then with a grimace at Alvar, she turned back and stomped her way to towards her mother's hut.
Daveth snickered at that, "That's a goodbye, I guess?" commented Alistair; Alvar sighed,
"Right! Now quit standing idly!" Alvar yelled at the three men, "let's attack and save them while some of them still continue to breathe!" and they got their work.
Daveth took position on the hill and readied his bow while Alvar waited as Jory and Alistair walked leftwards and rightwards respectively. Once, they got into positions behind the respective flanks of the darkspawn, Alvar raised his sword and the three of them charged at the darkspawn. The men swooped in on the darkspawn attacking them from behind.
"For Ferelden!" the three of them yelled as they hacked the darkspawn. In the dim moonlight, the soldiers could not see clearly the three newcomers; but their war cries were enough to indicate they are friendly.
"For Ferelden!" yelled the ginger haired woman, commanding the Fereldan soldiers and even the other soldiers joined in as well.
Once again, Alvar and his companions took advantage of the element of surprise. But soon Alvar realised that this time it would not be so easy. Although they had some advantage in the element of surprise, the darkspawn seemed to be fight even more aggressively now than the ones they had encountered prior. With some effort he managed to kill a couple of the beasts but it was getting more difficult. Alvar's skills were not just in his sword arm but also in his footwork. He was very quick on his feet, moving around, dodging his foes' blows thus giving the darkspawn a more difficult target to attack. Alistair and Jory were also in the thick of the action.
Fortunately, Alvar and his companions' arrival had not only increased the number of swords swinging in the humans' favour but also raised the morale of the depleted unit. The soldiers' morale had raised and they fought with a greater fervour against their beastly foes. After a vicious skirmish lasting several minutes, the last of the darkspawn were finally slain. They counted the survivors; Alvar, Alistair and Jory had minor cuts and wounds, Daveth was unscathed as he had been shooting with his bow from a vantage point. As for the Fereldan soldiers; only four of them including their sergeant were standing, the sergeant woman had survived with some minor cuts and gashes.
Alvar and his companions approached the Fereldan soldiers, the woman spoke to Alvar, "You men arrived right on time to tip the scales in our favour! Many thanks sirs!"
"I would not wish to see more brave men and women of Ferelden fall to these heathen beasts!" Alvar responded, "What is your name soldier?"
"Aveline Vallen, sergeant in the Denerim fyrd!" she answered proudly, "We were assigned a patrol in these woods, it went relatively well until a darkspawn warband assailed us just a few minutes before your arrival."
She looked aside on the ground, at a fallen knight. "They killed many of us, including our captain," she said remorsefully.
"Yes…" Alvar shared in her remorse, "But seeing the number of darkspawn dead, it is clear these men made those beasts pay dearly." He added as he glanced around at the fallen bodies.
"Who are you sir? Are you Grey Wardens?" asked Aveline after a glance at Alistair, standing nearby, clad in the Grey Warden armour.
"No!" snapped Alvar, he then took a quick breath, "Not yet, I am Lord Alvar Cousland of Highever!" he answered with pride, "this is Alistair, only he is a Grey Warden. This is Ser Jory from Redcliffe," he indicated Jory, and then indicating Daveth, "this is cutpurse."
Daveth rolled his eyes, "Cousland!? I… am pleased to make your acquaintance, my lord," answered Aveline with a bow.
Alvar nodded, "Right, now shall we get back to the camp? Before we are beset by more darkspawn."
"Yes, my lord," agreed Aveline, "soldiers! to the camp!" she ordered. And they all proceeded together towards the army camp ahead.
xXxXxXxXxXx
"You have come, I suppose your mission is a success," stated Duncan calmly. Senior Warden Nelson also stood beside him.
"It would have been a shame if it wasn't, no?" snapped Alvar, "to have lost the one recruit whom you did so much to get your filthy claws on!"
"Of course, we have what you want!" he yelled.
"Good!" praised Duncan, "And you have the treaties as well."
Alvar nodded, "Here are your precious treaties." He handed the treaties to Duncan.
"Excellent, I've had the circle mages preparing. With the blood you have retrieved, we can begin the Joining immediately."
"Now will you tell us what this blasted ritual is?" demanded Alvar,
"You will get to know soon," answered Duncan, "Just know that we Grey Wardens pay a heavy price to become what we are."
"Oh?" Alvar crossed his arms, "What are you then? What makes you different from other soldiers in this camp?"
"Could it be the fact that many of these soldiers are honest men and women who love their country while your ranks are filled with convicted criminals and vermin of the worst sort?" mocked Alvar.
"You will find out soon," Duncan answered, "But know this, there is no turning back once you have agreed to join."
"Agreed?!" Alvar laughed sardonically, "you deceitful knave! When have you asked for my agreement?!"
Duncan sighed, "I see you are still upset about that."
"No shit, you bastard!" Alvar growled, "I have never wanted to be a Grey Warden and I still don't! You know what has happened in Highever and yet you have the nerve to expect me to leave it in Cailan's hands and forget everything!?"
Duncan stood silent, Alistair, Jory and Daveth stood in perplexity. "Alvar," Duncan broke the silence after a moment, "I assure you that once you know everything about the darkspawn and the heavy price, we pay… you will feel differently about us. You will understand why we do what we do."
Alvar frowned, "Your assurance is worth horseshit!" he thundered, and then he calmed down as he regained his poise, "Still, I have given my word, which is worth more than the entire lot of you wretches; I will join your order.
"Now, tell us what we must do!"
"Before we do begin, there is one thing left…" Duncan's eyes fell on the fine sword in Alvar's belt, "Alvar, you will be given new weapons once you survive the Joining; you will no longer need your present sword and shield anymore."
"This is my family sword, it has a value which none of you knaves would understand!" declared Alvar, "I will not dispose it off, like it is some old scrap."
"You can entrust it to someone else," suggested Duncan, "I would suggest you give it to King Cailan. Who better to safeguard your sword than the king himself?"
'Is he for real?' thought Alvar. Duncan had just suggested giving his family sword and shield to Cailan out of all the people. 'Trust that dullard with my sword?' he pondered, as he glanced at the finely made hilt, 'Over my dead body.'
"No, not Cailan!" Alvar answered sternly, "I would not trust that simpleton with anything, and you expect me to give him my family sword?!
"Not even if the Maker commands me, would I do such a thing!"
"Must I remind you that you are speaking about you king?" reprimanded Duncan.
"Must I remind you that he is a cousin of mine?" retorted Alvar.
"I know that," responded Duncan, "Tell me, how much did that help you earlier?"
Alvar was silent now, as much as he hated to admit, Duncan was right. Cailan worshipped the Grey Wardens, he would side with Duncan against him. Alvar had seen hard proof of this in the morning. "I shall entrust my sword to Arl Leonas Bryland," he declared firmly, "he is the only one I can trust."
To Alvar's surprise, Duncan simply nodded, "As you wish, Nelson shall accompany you to his tent; once that is done, he shall escort you to the old temple in the north-eastern part of Ostagar. There we shall do the Joining."
Alvar rolled his eyes and walked towards Arl Bryland's tent as Nelson followed on.
"One more thing, Duncan," said Alistair.
"We came across two women in the forest, a mother and daughter. They had the treaties with them. They were both… very odd"
"Were they Wilder folk?" questioned Duncan.
"I do not know," answered Alistair, "they are mages, at least one of them is; they could be apostates hiding from the Chantry."
"Alistair, I know you were a former templar of the Chantry," said Duncan, "But you are a Grey Warden now, the Chantry's business is no longer your concern. We got the scrolls from them and that is enough."
"Yes, the mother also told us to warn you that the blight is a greater threat than you all realise… What do you think, Duncan? How could they know that?"
Duncan sighed, "I have always had my fears that the blight could be a bigger threat. And this is why we are here now. I am very grateful that King Cailan listened to my warnings despite hostility from most of the nobility against our order.
"As to how the woman knows, they live in the Wilds, which are filled with darkspawn. Maybe that is what make them feel it is an actual blight."
"But Duncan, why do the nobles of Ferelden hate the Grey Wardens so?" asked Alistair.
Duncan was very glad that Alvar was not present here at the moment. He was sure that Alvar would have readily seized the moment to denigrate the Grey Wardens further. "Our Order's history with the crown and the nobility of Ferelden is very sensitive. I will tell you some other time, in full detail about the past. But although the nobility does have good reasons, I feel they are being to rigid in their views."
"Uh, tell me about it!" added Daveth.
"Anyways, we must begin the Joining. Alistair, take Daveth and Jory to the old temple in the north-eastern part of Ostagar. Wait for me there." Duncan instructed Alistair and the two recruits.
xXxXxXxXxXx
"Ah, here is Arl Leonas' tent," said Alvar, he then turned to Nelson, "you wait here outside, while I will go inside and give him my sword and shield."
"But Alvar, Duncan bid me to escort you all the way," protested Nelson, "He wants me to…"
"Will you listen! Or must I make you to?!" threatened Alvar, "I have men here with me. Men who will listen to me and do my bidding.
And I do not think it would be unnatural for a soldier to go missing in an army camp so close to the darkspawn infested forest,"
"I… alright, I will wait here…." Nelson said with resignation.
Alvar smiled smugly and strutted into the tent. He entered inside to see Arl Leonas Bryland and some officers of the South Reach fyrd sitting around in a group. To his delight, he saw Ser Alan as well, which meant that one of his conditions was being followed, at least for now.
"Alvar! Come in, son," Arl Leonas bellowed, the officers all stood up and bowed to Alvar as he approached the group.
"Greetings, Leonas," he greeted the Arl, "Gentlemen," he glanced at the officers.
Arl Leonas Bryland had fought alongside Alvar's father Bryce Cousland and Arl Rendon Howe. The three of them were some of the few handful survivors of the deadly battle of White River, in the aftermath of which they had developed a very close friendship. Although at the end of the war the trio broke after a falling out between Howe and Bryland, Bryce Cousland had maintained friendship with both of them.
The Bryland family are close with the Cousland family; just like their fathers, Alvar had built a close friendship with the Bryland children as well, especially his elder son and daughter, Leander and Siobhan respectively. Thus, the Arl of South Reach was the only person of high standing in Ostagar whom Alvar could trust.
"We have a lot to talk," proclaimed Alvar solemnly, "Gentlemen, will you all please wait outside," he requested the officers. The South Reach officers and Ser Alan saluted the two noblemen and left the tent.
"So, Leonas, the events of Highever, they are…" Alvar took a few slow breaths.
"At ease, son," Leonas reassured him, with a hand on his shoulder, "I am there to listen if you wish to talk. But there is no pressure. You can take your time and talk to me when you are ready."
"No, we shall talk about Highever some other time," said Alvar, "Right now I am here for something else."
And Alvar narrated about the Grey Warden tasks and what Duncan told him about his sword and shield.
"Maker, what do they need the darkspawn tainted blood for?" asked Bryland.
"I do not know," answered Alvar, "that wretch and his lapdogs give the same answer all the time. 'I will get to know soon' they say.
"They couldn't even store the blood. Instead, they would have us go alone, deep into those cursed wilds to fetch the darkspawn blood! Thank Andraste! I survived that damned forest!"
Alvar remembered that Duncan actually never talked about the darkspawn blood until Alvar had agreed to join. He suspected it must be secret as well which he just now divulged to Bryland, but then he did not care about the Grey Warden secrets or anything related to that order.
"Anyways, Duncan wants me to get rid of my sword," said Alvar, "he says he will provide me another sword and shield.
"One I am sure is marked with the silver griffon insignia. He said I will not need my blade anymore. So, I am entrusting my family sword and shield with you."
Arl Bryland was astounded by what Alvar said, "you are giving me your family's sword?"
"Yes, Leonas," Alvar nodded intently, "you are the only person in this entire camp that I can trust with such cherished possessions. Please keep them safe until I ask you to return them."
"I will, Alvar!" Bryland declared earnestly, "your sword and shield will be safe in my hands! And when you need them again, you just have to ask!"
"Thank you," Alvar was very grateful to the one nobleman he could trust.
Alvar removed the sword from his belt with the sheath still on. He also removed his shield from his back. He took his sword in both hands, gazing at the finely engraved Cousland laurels on the hilt. He wondered when he would be able to hold it again, when he would he would no longer be a Grey Warden.
'Soon, I hope, soon I will have you in my arms again,' he thought as he handed the blade. He then remembered his plan, 'And by then I will be free from the clutches of that band of thugs and no longer would I have to bother with them.'
Arl Bryland carefully received the sheathed sword and the shield from the young nobleman. He then placed them nearby on a seat.
"And what is the situation here?" asked Alvar.
"The scouts report movements of large groups of darkspawn towards our camp, they report they are the largest host to be seen ever since we camped here," answered Bryland, "we believe we might face an onslaught tonight."
"Tonight!" gasped Alvar.
"Yes, this very night, in a few more hours," affirmed the Arl, "this will also be the largest battle so far."
"And what does my dear cousin think?"
"Cailan is actually quite delighted…" Bryland was uneasy, "he is very confident of a decisive victory. He thinks that the forces we have here and the two score Grey Wardens will be enough to win the Blight."
"Do the scouts know how many darkspawn are there?"
"No, they did say several thousands, and surely they outnumber us. But we do not have any reliable estimate of the numbers."
"And what does Duncan say?" asked Alvar.
"Duncan makes a brazen suggestion which would cost him his head if not for Cailan!" uttered Bryland, his tone had changed, it was filled with contempt.
"Well, he has done many things that would cost him his head," said Alvar, his arms crossed, "But what did he do now?"
"There have been talks with Empress Celene about reinforcements," answered Bryland, "Celene offered to send eight thousand Orlesian Chevaliers along with the companies of foot soldiers accompanying each of them and two hundred Orlesian Grey Wardens.
"Duncan has suggested to agree to open the borders to the Orlesian forces, and Cailan…"
"He said what?!" Alvar was outraged.
"Yes, he wants to allow an Orlesian army, as large as the entire Fereldan army into our country," uttered Bryland, "This does not sit well with the nobility, especially with Teyrn Loghain."
"Absolutely! He is suggesting to accept the offer to open our doors to those filthy Orlesian swine, er… no offense Leonas," said Alvar, as he remembered that Arl Leonas Bryland is a son of a Fereldan man and an Orlesian woman, "But Maker's mercy, this is unbelievable!
"As if blackmailing a Teyrn is not enough, he has the audacity to make such brazen suggestions! Maker, that bastard Duncan is taking his friendship with Cailan too far!" Alvar was seething with rage.
"And what did Cailan say about this?" questioned Alvar even though he had a clear idea of how Cailan must have reacted.
"He seems to be on board with it, only Loghain and other nobles like myself are the reason that this proposal has not received assent." Bryland answered him.
"I know Cailan has been trying to mend our tense relations with Orlais and wishes to create new relations," commented Alvar, "But Maker, how stupid is he? And is Orlais the only other country on Thedas that we can ask assistance from? Why not the Free Marches? Why not Nevarra? In fact, we actually have friendly relations with the Nevarrans."
"You have friendly relations with the Nevarrans, not him"
Alvar looked perplexed, Bryland expounded, "Sancia, the daughter of Grand Duke Frederick Van Markham and niece to King Markus Pentaghast is your wife, not his.
Mayhap he fears that if we ask for their help and if they send troops; you might use them to dethrone him and seize the crown for yourself."
"Hmm… It could be," Alvar said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, "He knows about the Treaty of Highever and what my family did five years ago at the time of Maric's disappearance. Hmm… come to think of it if I was in his place, I might think the same."
Alvar then remembered Howe and his doubts about how Cailan must be the one pulling Howe's strings, resurfaced in his mind. The House Cousland and Royal House Theirin have always had tense, bittersweet political relations, even if many of the outsiders were unaware of this.
Then Alvar quickly dismissed that thought, he knew that Howe's strings are being pulled by someone. But that person being Cailan seemed far-fetched, that dullard cousin of his was far too dumb to enact such political maneuvers. 'Or is he?' he pondered.
"Enough talk," said Alvar, with a sigh, "let us just see what happens next and proceed accordingly."
"I agree."
"And Alvar, Cailan and Loghain were right when they said your words and actions today afternoon will be heard in the next Landsmeet." Bryland spoke gravely,
"I just hope you know what you are doing. You do not just have yourself to be concerned with," advised the Arl, "The fate of House Cousland, your vassal houses, your allies and your wife; all rest on your shoulders."
"I know what I am doing," Alvar answered confidently, "Trust me, Leonas, only after careful planning I had decided the terms I issued for my recruitment and I agreed with the Joining."
"You are a clever and a crafty man, son. But still be careful and do not ever think you are without friends." Bryland said passionately.
Alvar smiled at him, "Thank you, Leonas,"
"Don't thank me, son, your family and mine are friends. You will always have the support of House Bryland and South Reach Arling."
Alvar wiped the tears swelling his eyes, he approached Bryland and embraced the man. Bryland lovingly returned the embrace, "Goodbye, Leonas," said Alvar, "we will meet again soon,"
"We will son! we will" said Leonas as Alvar pulled away from the embrace.
Alvar then turned and walked steadily out of the tent, Nelson who was waiting outside all this while approached him, "I suppose you are done."
"Let us get over it" scoffed Alvar.
Nelson then led Alvar to the old temple for the Joining ritual.
A/N: Since Alvar has been trained from childhood to be a leader, gameplaywise he already starts with the Champion specialisation. So, currently he has the Champion specialisation.